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11:00 – 12:00 p.m. EST

FLC Kick-Off & Networking Session (LIVE)

Live session hosted by National PTA’s Vice President of Advocacy Rose Acerra along with the National ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøLegislation Committee.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. EST

Opening General Session

National ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøleadership and special guests start LegCon strong with a reminder of why we are here and insight to carry through the week.

1:15 – 2:00 p.m. EST

Workshop Block 1 - Concurrent workshop sessions

Building Bridges with Lawmakers: Advocacy Strategies that Work

Become empowered with the foundational skills to advocate effectively for children and education. Gain insight into the legislative process, strategic communication techniques and virtual advocacy tools to build the knowledge and confidence to engage meaningfully with lawmakers. You will leave prepared for successful virtual congressional meetings, ensuring your voice is heard on critical issues impacting families nationwide. Learn practical, actionable strategies that can be applied immediately in local and federal advocacy efforts.

Sometimes It's Just Not That Easy: Advocating in Difficult Circumstances

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøadvocacy isn’t always a walk in the park. Learn how to effectively advocate in difficult times and circumstances, celebrate the small wins, harness the power of the media and coalitions and stay positive! We will focus on those times when it’s just not that easy. Learn how to look for little wins and points of unity when having discussions with elected officials who do not hold views that align with yours. Discuss the importance of coalition building in order to more effectively advocate for youth and public education. Finally, we will emphasize that you’re not alone—you will be able to connect with other advocates that are working in difficult circumstances.

Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Our Children and Away from Our Schools

Ensuring we are all doing what we can to protect our children and our schools from gun violence is now more urgent than ever before. Seventy-six percent of school shooters acquired their firearms from the home of a parent or another close relative. Currently, six in 10 parents report worrying about school violence and 86% of parents support holding gun owners legally responsible for the safe storage of firearms. At PTA, we want all students to feel supported by their school community and all adults to take responsibility if they have firearms in their home. Hear from leading voices in the national gun violence prevention space and learn about new resources to bring back to your school communities and how we can raise our ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøvoice together to advocate for secure storage in our nation.

Growing Our Advocacy Voice: The Importance, Benefits and Value of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøMembership

As advocates for children and education, National ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøplays a critical role in shaping policies, fostering community engagement and supporting families across the nation. Learn more about the importance, benefits and value of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍømembership, while also building strategies for growing membership within local PTAs.

2:30 – 3:15 p.m. EST

Workshop Block 2 - Concurrent workshop sessions

From Heart to Hill: Connecting Through Powerful Storytelling

Develop techniques to craft and deliver personal narratives that resonate with lawmakers. You will learn how to highlight the impact of crucial education issues on families and communities, making your advocacy efforts more relatable and compelling during virtual congressional meetings. Aligning your stories with National PTA’s legislative priorities ensures your advocacy efforts effectively communicate emotional appeal and policy demands. Through hands-on practice, you will gain confidence in delivering your stories virtually, enhancing your ability to forge strong connections with legislators and their staff.

Statewide Family Engagement Centers: Federally Funded Partners for PTAs

We'll explore together what high-impact family engagement is and the proven benefits to preK-12 students, teachers and families. You will hear from Statewide Family Engagement Centers from across the country—their purpose, resources and supports available to PTAs—and the federal funding competition that has awarded grants since 2018, including a brief historical perspective of the Parent Information and Resource Centers (PRICs) that were renamed and strengthened in the reauthorization of ESSA. We will explore the resources of the Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center (www.ohiofamiliesengage.osu.edu) that are all available at no cost to PTAs, schools and families anywhere. Leave with next steps for advocating for the Statewide Family Engagement Center program and for sharing about the Centers and their resources with your local PTAs.

Stopping School Vouchers: How Parents Can Fight for Public Schools

Hear from EdTrust’s experts about an overview of school voucher policies, their implications for Black, Brown and low-income students and advocacy tools and strategies for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍømembers to use in mobilizing your communities against voucher policies. Learn from the Prichard Committee (KY) about their experience putting these strategies to work on the ground in partnership with parents in a conservative state. We will close the conversation with peer sharing and group strategizing regarding how PTAs can leverage the tools and strategies shared to mobilize parents and make their voices heard in support of local public schools.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m. EST

Advocacy Awards Ceremony

Celebrate and hear about the efforts of National PTA’s 2025 Outstanding Advocacy Awards recipients and honor National PTA’s 2025 Congressional Voice for Children awardees. Become inspired by the dedication of these advocates as we conclude our day together.

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. EST

9:00 a.m. EST

Hill Day Kick-Off

9:00 â€“ 5:00 p.m. EST

Virtual Hill Day

Meet with your members of Congress in meetings set up by your state’s FLC.

6:00 â€“ 6:30 p.m. EST

Hill Day Celebration

Share about victories of the day, lessons learned and chances to be more impactful as a result of your experiences during Hill Day. And, hear from student advocates to gain insight into their experiences.

12:00 – 12:45 p.m. EST

Workshop Block 3 - Concurrent workshop sessions

Advocacy in Action: Building Coalitions and Partnerships to Strengthen Your PTA

Join us to foster strong community partnerships through coalition-building. Together, we will delve into strategies for connecting with local like-minded associations, enhancing collaboration and creating a united front to support our advocacy efforts. By the end, you’ll have the tools to forge meaningful partnerships that can drive impactful change in our school communities.

Trauma-Informed Communities and Classrooms

The primary mission of schools is to support students in educational achievement. To reach this goal, children must feel safe, supported and ready to learn. Children exposed to violence and trauma may not feel safe or ready to learn. Not only are individual children affected by traumatic experiences, but other students, the adults on campus and the entire school community can be impacted by interacting or working with a child who has experienced trauma. Thus, as schools maintain their critical focus on education and achievement, they must also acknowledge that mental health and wellness are innately connected to students’ success in the classroom and to a thriving environment.

Black Student Achievement: Effectively Engaging with Black Families for Academic Excellence

Strengthen your understanding and support of Black student achievement within our schools. Participate in a dynamic panel discussion to define "Black Student Achievement," create actionable plans to effectively engage Black families and their scholars utilizing the National Standards of Family-School Partnerships and highlight the vital importance of targeted funding for related programs. By fostering meaningful connections and promoting positive change, we aim to enhance the educational experience for Black students.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøConnected: A Positive, Proactive and Practical Approach to Digital Safety and Well-Being

Parenting in the digital age can be challenging, and today’s families are faced with many tough decisions surrounding technology use and navigating digital spaces. Through the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøConnected initiative and related programming, National ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøempowers ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøleaders and families with tools and resources to strengthen their digital well-being, online safety and digital citizenship. Explore the key themes of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøConnected and learn more about ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøConnected programs and National ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøfunding opportunities.

1:00 – 1:45 p.m. EST

Workshop Block 4 - Concurrent workshop sessions

Advocating Together: Getting Students, Parents and Staff to Be a Team

Teamwork might make the dream work, but it is the teammates who make the team work! Explore the keys to creating a culture of cooperation and collaboration, where team members value being a part of something bigger than themselves. We’ll discuss the art of being a good teammate and how leaders can inspire team members to prioritize team objectives over individual agendas. You'll learn strategies for using the concept of being a good teammate to engage families and improve student-parent-school relationships. You’ll also learn how to leverage this concept to counter bullying and provide marginalized, at-risk students with an attainable and socially revered identity. Through storytelling, humor and small group discussions, you’ll discover the seven secrets to creating good teammates. Prepare to exit with practical takeaways and a rejuvenated sense of purpose.

Building Inclusive Spaces: Creating Autism-Friendly ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøEvents

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøleaders will be empowered to create more inclusive environments by adapting autism-friendly practices for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøevents. We will explore the barriers families with autistic children face when attending school functions and provide simple, actionable strategies to make events more accessible and welcoming. The session will align with PTA’s mission to advocate for every student, ensuring all families can participate in and contribute to school life.

Hey Dude, Nice Shoes: An Anti-Bullying/Pro-Kindness Approach

Learn how to discern what bullying actually is and isn’t and identify behaviors. Understand how to respond in the moment and how to report troublesome behavior. Discuss how all (parents, teachers and students) can make every school campus and the world a softer place to be.

Ending Youth Nicotine Addiction: What Parents Need to Know and How PTAs Can Get Involved

Despite some progress, youth e-cigarette use remains a serious public health problem in the United States. We cannot let down our guard when over 1.6 million kids still use e-cigarettes and 42% of high school users report frequent or daily use, a strong indication they are addicted to the high-nicotine products now on the market. Nicotine levels in e-cigarettes have skyrocketed in recent years, and the latest products contain as much nicotine as 20 packs of cigarettes or more, putting kids at risk of rapid and severe addiction. E-cigarette companies continue to find ways to appeal to youth with their highly addictive products and new and emerging products like nicotine pouches. Hear from parents, educators, young people and health experts about current youth tobacco use trends, the efforts underway to address it and how parents and teachers can get involved.

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. EST

Reflect on the connections and progress made during LegCon with closing remarks from National ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøPresident Yvonne Johnson to help you carry our momentum all year long. And, hear from student advocates to gain valuable insight into their experiences.